Burial vault



April 12, 1938. J. E. AcKr-:RMAN 2,114,202

BURIAL VAULT Filed Feb. 23, 1937 da?? 19d/ferma f7 NEN-ron 3 ay mmm@ ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to a mausoleum and has for the primary object the provision of a device of this character which will provide partial surface burial wherein the top of said device will be exposed to View having means on which a desired inscription may be placed.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a device of this character which will have its joints efficiently sealed to exclude air and weather elements and still compensate for expansion and contraction caused by varying temperatures.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means for permitting gradual escape of gases and moisture from the interior of the device to bring about preserving of the body by gradual drying thereof.

With these and other objects in View, this in vention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a top plan view illustrating a burial vault or mausoleum constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section showing the various compartments of the device.

Figure 3 is an end elevation partly in section illustrating the device.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral I indicates a container including side, bottom and end walls 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The walls 2, 3, and 4 are constructed from composition material and are reinforced by reinforcements 5 embedded therein. The material of the walls 2, 3, and 4 is such as to exclude moisture from the exterior to the interior of the device. Internal shoulders 6 are formed on the walls Z and 4 and cooperate in forming a rest and the walls 2 and 4 from the rest upwardly to their upper edges are corrugated, as shown at 1. Relatively spaced parallel grooves 8 are formed in the top face of the bottom wall 3, the grooves extending from one end wall to the other. The grooves il form corrugations in the bottom wall. A layer of material 9 capable of absorbing moisture rests on the top face of the bottom wall and has abutting engagement with the side walls and terminates short of the end Walls 4 so that air may circulate from the space above said layer downwardly and through the grooves 8. A layer of material Iii of cement or the like is placed on the layer El. The layer I 0 is porous. Before placing a casket in the casket chamber of the container I suitable spaced members are arranged on the covering of the bottom wall to support the casket in spaced relation thereto, permitting the free circulation of air about the casket. The casket space is defined by the bottom wall 3, side walls 2 and end walls 4 below the rest 6.

After the placing of the casket in the casket chamber of the container I a dehydrator box II is placed in engagement with the rest 6 to form a closure for the casket chamber and is provided with a space I2 taking in the major portion of the box so that bottom, side and top walls are provided to the box, the top wall having applied to its inner face a layer of absorbent material I3. The space I2 of the box forms an air chamber. The side and end walls upon the outer face of the box are cutaway and corrugated, as shown at I4, to cooperate with the corrugated portions of the walls 2 and 4 of the container in defining a sealing groove of substantially V-shape in cross section. The edges of the box when the latter is placed on the rest 6 are spaced a limited distance from the walls 2 and 4.

Provided for the container I is a cover I6 having depending flanges I'I to enter the sealing grooves and be spaced from the walls of said grooves. Prior to the application of the cover I6 to the container the sealing grooves are iilled with a sealing cement I8 and when the cover is placed in position on the container, the flanges I1 thereof become embedded in the cement I8. The cement also passes between the cover and the upper edges of the Walls 2 and 4 of the container and also passes into the spaces between the walls 2 and 4 of the container and the edges of the box I I. The casket chamber then becomes hermetically sealed so that moisture, air and weather elements are excluded therefrom. The cover I6 is constructed from a porous composition of material and has embedded therein reinforcing members I9. Reinforcing members 20 are ernbedded in the box II. The cover I6 is provided with a concaved inner face 2I spacing the cover a distance from the top wall of the box II forming an air chamber 22. The casket chamber, air chamber I2 and air chamber 22 are only in communication with each other by the pores of the material from which the box is constructed. The air chamber 22 is in communication with the atmosphere only through the pores of the material from which the cover I6 is constructed. Thus it will be seen that gases forming in the casket chamber from the body and also any moisture coming from liquids of the body may gradually pass to the atmosphere thereby bringing about a gradual drying of the body over a period of time, which preserves the body for a much longer time than if the body were subjected to excessive amounts of air and moisture. The only air and moisture which the body located in this device is subjected to are the gases and liquids emanating from the body. The outer surface of the cover I6 is curved so as to readily shed rain water and other weather elements. Furthermore, the chambers I2 and 22 form substantially dead air spaces which have a tendency to prevent exterior temperatures from affecting the temperature within the casket chamber allowing the temperature Within the casket chamber to remain substantially non-variable.

An offset 24 is formed on the exterior face of the cover I6 and may be of any desired shape or design on which may be applied in any well known manner an inscription.

A vault of the character described provides Within itself a dehydrator for the purpose of bringing about a slow drying of the body within the Casket chamber and also provides a device which is capable of withstanding ordinary handling and usage without the danger of breakage.

Having described the invention, I claim:

A burial vault comprising a waterproof contaner adapted to have positioned therein a casket containing a body, a dehydrator box closing said container and constructed of a material having minute pores, a cover for said container and spaced from the box to form a chamber and constructed of a material having minute pores, means for sealing the cover and box to each other and to the container, moisture absorbing material arranged within the chamber of the box and within the container over the bottom thereof, the bottom of said container having parallel spaced grooves opening through the top face of the bottom and terminating short of certain Walls of the container with the absorbent material closing 20 

